End of the Keir show: Starmer takes final PMQs as Andy Burnham is nominated successor by 92% of Labour MPs in Stalin-style landslide

By JAMES TAPSFIELD, UK POLITICAL EDITOR Published: 08:13, 15 July 2026 | Updated: 08:14, 15 July 2026 Keir Starmer will take his last PMQs today as Andy Burnham frantically gears up to run the country.  The outgoing premier is giving his swan song at the weekly set-piece after holding one final Cabinet meeting, with his Downing Street exit looming on Monday. Sir Keir has been rushing out a slew of announcements as he tries to forge some sort of legacy, despite being ousted just two years after winning an historic election landslide. Meanwhile, Mr Burnham has been racking up even more nominations from 'crawling' Labour MPs as his coronation moment nears. An extraordinary 369 MPs - 92 per cent of the Parliamentary party - have now endorsed the former Greater Manchester Mayor. Only one nomination has been made for anyone else, with backbencher Neil Coyle proposing Catherine West for leader - even though she has nominated Mr Burnham.  'There was no room left to crawl into Andy Burnham's backside,' he told Politico.  Keir Starmer will take his last PMQs today as Andy Burnham frantically gears up to run the country Mr Burnham has been racking up even more nominations from 'crawling' Labour MPs as his coronation moment nears Jockeying for positions in Mr Burnham's team is at fever pitch, despite him insisting no decisions have been made. There is briefing from allies of the PM-in-waiting that Ed Miliband's prospects of becoming Chancellor are waning, with MPs warning the Net Zero Secretary would be too 'risky' and businesses taking fright at his left-wing views.  Shabana Mahmood and Yvette Cooper are among the other names in the frame for the key job.  Darren Jones, a key ally of Sir Keir, confirmed he was 'definitely' not going to remain in post next week, telling LBC he had been 'writing a handover note' and 'tidying up loose ends.' He admitted it had been difficult to get anything done during the transition period, adding: 'I've not been able to make new decisions in the last couple of weeks. I've been able to respond to issues, whether it's national security related or operational issues, but essentially, I've been spending my time making sure that's looked after.' Mystery remains over Mr Burnham's plans on almost all policy areas.  He gave another vague signal last night after making his first speech in the Commons since returning as an MP last month.  He told reporters that the cost of living is 'the issue of our times', referring once more to his bus projects in Manchester. 'If we want to connect politics better with people, well, let's deal with some of the pressures people are under in terms of the everyday cost of transport, the bills that they're paying. I heard it so often on doorsteps in the campaign,' he said. 'You know, life has changed for people, and it's not necessarily got better. And I think we just need to be relentlessly focused on that.' Sir Keir, who spent the last two days in France where he bizarrely received the Legion d'honneur from Emmanuel Macron, is said to be sad but philosophical about the crumbling of his political career.  Cabinet is gifting him a carriage clock this morning after deputy David Lammy organised a whip-round. He is likely to attend the World Cup final in the US on Sunday if England manage to beat Argentina tonight.  'It's not the way he wanted it to end, but he is doing the right thing by the country and the party,' one close ally told the Daily Mail.  'He won't be shouting from the sidelines.'  The outgoing PM held a reception last night for campaigners whose causes he had supported. There is briefing from allies of the PM-in-waiting that Ed Miliband's prospects of becoming Chancellor are waning The Prime Minister said: 'I'm pleased to have delivered on the promises that I made to many people in this garden, and I'll make this last promise, which is I will stand with you and walk with you for as long as I've got breath in my body.' In a sign of the closer relationship he has tried to forge with European neighbours, he also attended Bastille Day celebrations in Paris on Tuesday with Emmanuel Macron, who awarded him the Legion d'honneur in recognition of his work with France on European security.